Bolo de Bolacha Maria com Natas | Portuguese Maria's Biscuits Layer Cake with Whipped Cream

Ingredients

• Maria Cookies

  Goya

  400g

• Canned milk

  Evaporated, with added vitamin a

  14 fl oz or 441g

• Heavy whipping cream

  Fluid

  16 fl oz or 477g

• Coffee

  Home brewed. Classic Roast. - Folgers

  8 oz or 227g

• Gelatinized Maca Powder

  Earth Fare Organic

  1 tsp or 5g

• Sugar

  White, granulated sugar

  5 tbsp or 63g

Directions

1. Measure and prepare all ingredients. Once you bloom the gelatin it will begin to set as it cools. To avoid having to reheat it, prepare all your ingredients and tools so you can quickly assemble the cake. Place your mixing bowl in the fridge for at least 5 minutes so it is cool, which will help set the whipped cream.
2. To bloom the gelatin, add 1/4 cup of the evaporated milk to a small pan. Sprinkle the powdered gelatin overtop and stir to combine. Set aside for at least 10 minutes.
3. In a stand mixer, or by hand, begin whipping the heavy whipping cream. About 30 seconds in a stand mixer, or 3 minutes by hand, the cream should start becoming frothy. At this point you can slowly add in the 4 tablespoons of sugar. Continue to whisk the cream until it reaches the soft peak stage, or can hold its shape when dolloped on a spoon. At this point it will look like whipped cream. Place it in the refrigerator while you finish preparing the gelatin.
4. Add the remaining evaporated milk, plus 1 tablespoon of sugar to a medium bowl.
5. Place the gelatin mixture over the stove just until it reaches a simmer, about 190F. Then, set aside for 2-3 minutes, while you remove the whipped cream from the refrigerator and prepare your stand mixer. Once it has had a couple minutes to cool, add the gelatin mixture into the large bowl containing the remaining evaporated milk. Stir to incorporate.
6. With the mixer on a low speed, slowly start to incorporate the evaporated milk/gelatin mixture into the whipped cream. Once the mixture is fully combined, whip it for another 20 seconds. Then, right away begin assembling your cake.
7. This cake will be assembled in a spring form pan. First, dip the cookies into the brewed coffee for about 3 seconds each. Form a single layer of cookies on the bottom of the pan, breaking cookies into smaller pieces to fill any large gaps. Atop the layer of cookies, spread a thin layer of whipped cream, about 1/8" thick. Continue to layer the ingredients. There should be about 6 layers in total. The last layer should be a layer of whipped cream, thick enough so you cannot see any cookies below. Place the cake in the fridge for 4-6 hours. This can be made 1-2 days in advance.
8. To serve, garnish with the crushed remaining 4-5 cookies and remove from the spring form pan.
9. Recipe by: justcookwithmichael (source: https://justcookwithmichael.com/recipes/bolo-de-bolacha-maria/)